We just returned from a last minute booking to Jamaica. Usually our holidays involve a lot of out and about stuff but this one was total relaxation,
This was partly because I had a damaged tendon in my leg so could not walk far or climb, which ruled out the popular tourist trips to see the Dunns River waterfall and/or Bob Marley's house. Nonetheless, doing nothing but gentle beach walks to explore the local fishermens catch, has certainly made a huge difference to recovery and I am now pain free and ready for strengthening physio.
The Jamaican flag cocktail, aka the Bob Marley), full of fruit and rum!
Although this was the hurricane season and rain was likely, we had 9 scorching hot days of around 29 -31f with clear skies and only 2 days where it rained and thundered in the afternoons and we went to the room and slept while it passed.
The hotel, Royalton Hideaway at Trelawyn, nearest airport Montego Bay is in the middle of nowhere - trips into town alone were discouraged and as there was no local transport service, we opted to keep our exploration to walks along the very long, white sandy beach, meeting locals along the way.
Our hotel had a high level of loud music (reggae), pool parties, very tipsy guests and a lot of activities such as the pool foam party (which we joined), beach volleyball, drinking games (pass the parcel in the pool), and dancing. It was a great atmosphere but we chose to spend every day on the beach, away from 50% of the noise and were mostly floating in the sea or reading books on our sunbeds.
The sea has very little tide, going in and out about 3 feet, with a bit of seaweed (which the hotel employ staff to clear twice a day). The sand is soft and white, the water is shallow and warm. I took a floating device but didn't really need it as the sea was so floaty.
I used my new snorkel for the first time and saw yellow and black stripey fish and some brown ones.
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Walking along the beach we found some empty properties and some that were being rennovated for next year's tourism (Jamaican people), the majority of tourists from American and Canada go for the big hotels like ours which had a sister hotel we could use and a total of 4 big swimming pools, a lazy river and flumes. Something for everyone.
We met a fisherman who was descaling fish and proudly showed me a lobster caught fresh that morning. We don't eat seafood but were interested to see the catch. He explained there is a coral reef further out which is why we didn't see many fish or seashells. Men dive deep to bring in conch shells for the tourist trade, which we preferred to steer clear of - these things are homes to creatures that are on the decline.
There were a couple of shacks that sold jerk chicken just off the beach and a small 'village' of (hotel approved) vendors selling the usual fridge magnets and Bob Marley tee shirts.
This was a fabulous location for total rest and relaxation, food was good, rooms were comfortable. Not enough going on outside for us but a great experience and 40% off the usual package deal price so we were happy.
Probably my shortest travel post to date! I read three books, slept a lot and felt totally chilled and refreshed on return. Our sons shared cat sitting, one lived in for the duration and commuted to work in London, the other popped round at end of shifts to let Mollie in/out and my best buddy stepped in, popping round to check on Mollie the odd afternoon if it rained. Very lucky to have worry free cover :)
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